Alder, Beech and Birch are economically important tree species that are used to produce lumber and other wood products. There is a demand for Alder, Beech and Birch trees that possess desirable characteristics, such as an accelerated growth rate, or desirable wood characteristics. One approach to propagating Alder, Beech and Birch trees that possess desirable characteristics is to clone these trees. Alder, Beech and Birch trees may be cloned by excising portions of the trees that include meristematic tissue (e.g., buds or lenticels), and inducing the meristematic tissue to produce shoots, which may then be rooted and cultivated to produce mature trees.
The present invention provides methods that facilitate the propagation of numerous shoots from a single parent Alder, Beech or Birch tree. The shoots may be cultivated to produce genetically identical Alder, Beech or Birch trees.